Mass. panel: No profanity on rapper’s headstoneLYNN, Mass. (AP) — Commissioners at a Massachusetts cemetery have said no to profanity on headstones. Sonny Santiago, 23, was a rapper who died in a car crash in February. Commissioners at Pine Grove Cemetery in Lynn this week unanimously rejected his family’s request to inscribe his gravestone with a song verse that included profanity. The commission became aware of the language when the company inscribing the 3-foot tall memorial submitted d...

Teen charged with homicide by assault in ref death SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Family and friends honored the memory of a Utah soccer referee at an emotional funeral service Wednesday evening just hours after the teenager who punched him before he fell into a coma was charged with homicide by assault. After an afternoon wake at a community center, a group of men carried a wooden casket with the remains of Ricardo Portillo in silence about a quarter mile to a nearby Catholic church. There, about 200 ...

Commander cites ’rot’ in nuke force WASHINGTON (AP) — It was an attitude problem, Air Force commanders insisted, not a matter of competence. And besides, they contended, security was never at risk in spite of what one commander called “rot” in the crew force. Assurances aside, the crew’s failings appear unusually worrisome given its assignment: manning a nuclear missile base and being prepared at a moment’s notice to launch a Minuteman 3 if ordered by the president. An investiga...

NYC Council OKs sick days plan, seen as key step NEW YORK (AP) — In a significant victory amid a push for paid sick time laws around the country, city lawmakers voted Wednesday to make businesses provide the benefit to an estimated 1 million workers who don’t have it now. Saying they hoped that requiring sick leave in the nation’s largest metropolis would set an example, City Council members positioned New York to become the most populous place to approve such a law during a campaign that ha...

SKorean leader: Nuclear-armed North unacceptable WASHINGTON (AP) — South Korea’s President Park Geun-hye told Congress on Wednesday that she will never accept a nuclear-armed North Korea and that provocative actions by the reclusive communist country “will be met decisively.” But Park also said South Korea was ready to provide humanitarian aid, without linking it to the political situation on the divided Korean Peninsula, and will try to build trust so long as the North’s authoritarian gover...

Former US official describes Libya attack WASHINGTON (AP) — A former top diplomat in Libya on Wednesday delivered a riveting minute-by-minute account of the chaotic events during the deadly assault on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi last September, with a 2 a.m. call from Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and confusion about the fate of U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens. In a slow, halting and sometimes emotional voice, Gregory Hicks, the deputy chief of mission who was in...

Study: Fish oil doesn’t help prevent heart attacks Eating fish is good for your heart but taking fish oil capsules does not help people at high risk of heart problems who are already taking medicines to prevent them, a large study in Italy found. The work makes clearer who does and does not benefit from taking supplements of omega-3 fatty acids, the good oils found in fish such as salmon, tuna and sardines. Previous studies have suggested that fish oil capsules could lower heart risks in peopl...

A census first: Black voter turnout passes whites WASHINGTON (AP) — Making history, America’s blacks voted at higher rates than whites in 2012, lifting Democrat Barack Obama to victory amid voter apathy, particularly among young people, new census data show. Despite increasing population, the number of white voters declined for the first time since 1996. Blacks were the only race or ethnic group to show an increase in voter turnout in November, most notably in the Midwest and Southeastern U.S...

Cleveland man charged with 3 women’s kidnap, rape CLEVELAND (AP) — A man suspected of keeping three women captive inside his decrepit house for a decade was charged Wednesday with kidnapping and rape, accused of holding them under conditions so oppressive they were allowed outside for only a few moments in disguise and never saw a chance to escape until this week. Investigators said the women apparently were bound with ropes and chains, and a city councilman briefed on the case said they were...

Most military sexual assault cases go unreported WASHINGTON (AP) — They are young, often low-ranking service members out on the weekend in the late night and early morning hours. Sometimes they’ve been drinking. Often those who sexually assault them are in the armed forces, too. But in the vast majority of military sexual assault cases — as many as 22,000 in 2012 — the victim chooses not to report the attack or unwanted sexual contact. Sexual assaults across the military are a growing epidem...

’Miss America’ song cut from pageant over dispute ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — The next Miss America won’t hear a familiar refrain when she’s crowned in Atlantic City, N.J., in September. The song, “Miss America,” which starts with the words, “There she is, Miss America,” will not be part of the pageant. Miss American Organization Vice President Sharon Pearce told The Press of Atlantic City the tune, which was first played in 1955, is no longer included. She said no decision has been made on a ...

Jodi Arias says she prefers death penalty PHOENIX (AP) — Jodi Arias spent 18 days on the stand sharing intimate, emotional and oftentimes X-rated details of her life before a rapt television and online audience. She had hoped it all might convince a jury that she killed her one-time boyfriend in self-defense. But the eight men and four women on the panel didn’t buy it, convicting Arias of first-degree murder after only about 15 hours of deliberations. Jurors will return to court Thurs...

Discovery of 3 women recalls past abduction cases The discovery of three women in a Cleveland home who all had gone missing separately about a decade ago brings to mind cases of abductions elsewhere. A list of some prominent cases: JAYCEE DUGARD Dugard was abducted in June 1991 on her way to school in South Lake Tahoe, California. Then 11, she was held for 18 years by Phillip and Nancy Garrido. She was raped repeatedly by Garrido and gave birth to two daughters. Dugard was freed in 2009 after...

Study: Distracted driving deaths underreported WASHINGTON (AP) — Seventeen-year-old Kelsey Raffaele’s last words were over a cellphone to a friend: “I’m going to crash!” The car she was driving had clipped a snow bank and spun into oncoming traffic, where it was T-boned by an SUV. She died at a hospital without regaining consciousness. Police chalked the accident up to mistakes made by a novice driver, unaware that she had been on the phone at the time. Her phone was found later in the bac...

Internet sales tax bill faces tough sell in House WASHINGTON (AP) — Traditional retailers and cash-strapped states face a tough sell in the House as they lobby Congress to limit tax-free shopping on the Internet. The Senate voted 69 to 27 Monday to pass a bill that empowers states to collect sales taxes from Internet purchases. Under the bill, states could require out-of-state retailers to collect sales taxes when they sell products over the Internet, in catalogs, and through radio and TV ads...

Despite scandal, Ex-SC Gov. Sanford back in office CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Four years after scandal derailed his political career, ex-Republican Gov. Mark Sanford once again holds a South Carolina political office, winning back his old congressional seat Tuesday after a race in which he battled his past and an opponent who outdid him in fundraising. Sanford’s resurrection was completed when he defeated Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch, the sister of political satirist Stephen Colbert, in a dis...

GOP: Stronger borders or immigration bill will die WASHINGTON (AP) — Landmark immigration legislation is doomed to fail in Congress unless border-security provisions are greatly strengthened, Republican senators bluntly warned on Tuesday. “If in fact the American people can’t trust that the border is controlled, you’re never going to be able to pass this bill,” declared Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, top Republican on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. His admonishm...

Military sex assault reports up, changes ordered WASHINGTON (AP) — Sexual assaults in the military are a growing epidemic across the services and thousands of victims are still unwilling to come forward despite a slew of new oversight and assistance programs, according to a new Pentagon report. Troubling new numbers estimate that up to 26,000 military members may have been sexually assaulted last year, according to survey results released against a backdrops of scandals including an ongoing ...

Calif. limo fire kills 5 nurses; friends grieve OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — From the privacy of their bedrooms to the public bustle of busy hospital wards, families and friends Tuesday struggled with the heartbreak of losing five loved ones, all nurses, who died Saturday in a burning limousine. Outside the Fruitvale HealthCare Center, the medical center where all nine met and became fast friends, nurse Medhanit Kahassai ran sobbing out the door into the parking lot on Tuesday, overwhelmed with g...

A bit slimmer: Christie has weight-loss surgery NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Gov. Chris Christie, who once famously called himself “the healthiest fat guy you’ve ever seen,” disclosed Tuesday he had secretly undergone weight-loss surgery, a major new step by the potential Republican presidential contender to address both his health and a political vulnerability. The stakes are high for Christie, with medical professionals and campaign strategists alike suggesting there is no more serious barrier to ...